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ADULT DAY SERVICES
Several types of service are available for developmentally
disabled adults who are no longer in school but cannot find and maintain a full time job
in the community. A broad range of disability levels can be served in these programs.
Clinical treatment in a classroom-type model is provided through day treatment.
Community-based productive activities are offered in day habilitation.
Job readiness skills are provided through sheltered employment and day
training. Employment in the community with supports to gain and maintain the job
are provided through supported work. Finally, these services programs also
offer vocational assessment to help determine the appropriate type of
program best suited to the individual’s skills and strengths. |
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EDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR CHILDREN
Services are available to provide developmental intervention and education for
children from birth through twenty-one (21) years. This group includes early
intervention services for developmentally delayed children from birth to age
three; preschool special education services for disabled children from three
to five years; and special education from age five through twenty-one. In
the infant and toddler years, these services may be provided in the home or in a community
setting; for preschoolers, classroom-based services are offered in community settings; for
school-age children who cannot be appropriately served in public school settings, special
schools are available. |
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CLINICAL & HEALTH SERVICES
Clinic programs offer habilitation services
that can support developmentally disabled individuals’ growth and development in
their day or residential programs or their home lives. These services could include a
long-term plan for physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, counseling, and
similar clinical services. Some clinical programs also offer primary health care
in an environment especially suited for developmentally disabled individuals and their
families, with primary care doctors who are experienced with this population. |
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CHILD & FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES
When developmentally disabled children and adult children
are living at home with their own families, various types of support services are
available. These may include counseling; afterschool, weekend or evening recreation;
summer day and sleep-away camping; service coordination and case
management; assistance with transportation, family voucher
services for incidental expenses related to the child’s disability, and many types of
respite such as in-home, out-of-home, overnight, and weekend respite. |
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RESIDENTIAL SERVICES
Individuals with developmental disabilities can be
supported in many types of residential environments. For children and adult children still
living at home with their families, in-home residential habilitation brings
assistance directly into the home on a part-time basis to assist family caretakers. For
adults ready to leave their family home, opportunities are available with many different
levels of support. Supportive apartments provide supervision on a part-time
basis to two or three individuals living together. A group of individuals living together
in a house or apartment with full-time supervision might live in a supervised
community residence, an Individualized Residential Alternative, or
an Intermediate Care Facility. The agencies which provide these residential
services will also have assessment services available to determine the appropriate level
of supervision and independence for the individual. |
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INFORMATION & REFERRAL SERVICES
There are a number of non-profit providers who
specialize in providing information and referral services to parents and to
other providers. |
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SERVICES FOR PROFESSIONALS
There are several commercial firms and corporations
providing professional services with special expertise for the mental
retardation/developmental disabilities provider community. These services may include accounting,
auditing, legal services, management consulting, and program
consulting. |
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